BP's Russian boss Bob Dudley goes into hiding

CEO Robert Dudley sets up secret HQ as row deepens with Russian partners

TNK-BP boss Bob Dudley has gone into hiding this weekend as the battle between BP and its Russian partners threatens to turn into a diplomatic incident.

Dudley, who left Russia last week, has set up a secret European command centre from which he will attempt to keep control over TNK-BP, a lucrative joint-venture between BP and Russian investors.

Dudley has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal his whereabouts, including extensive security measures to ensure his phone calls and e-mails are untraceable. His location is known only to a handful of BP executives and he has been joined by a small, hand-picked support team.

American and European governments have been drawn into the row. Gordon Brown, US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson and EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson are understood to have made representations to Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, to resolve the issue. BP is America's biggest oil producer and about